KISS - Knights in Saurons Service

Over the next two posts, I have some Oldhammer White Boxes, also known as "Speciality Sets".

First up we have KISS.
The Knights in Sauron's Service!
Actually its the Box Set coded as SS1-2 Warriors of Chaos.

These Chaos Knights are the elite warriors of Mordor's strike forces.
Beneath their helmets they have black and white face paint.
I wonder which one of them has the unfortunate cat face makeup.

Take the reins of power and seize them, draw the battle lines
Armageddon's just a matter of time
Tear down the voice of reason, let the arrows fly
Your freedom's just a state of mind, yeah

Better watch out 'cause I'm a war machine
You better watch out 'cause I'm a war machine

The front of all the Speciality Sets were the same cover art.

Look at this artwork...
Look at the figure below...
The first and greatest mystery of Warhammer history follows...

 Uthmog Elvenblade

The boxed set for the rules of 1st edition Warhammer Fantasy has this miniature as its cover.
Its the same artwork as these White Box miniatures sets.
The artwork features this fellow with a...  Warhammer!
This figure has a name...  Uthmog Elvenblade.
Yet strangely he doesnt carry a blade, he carries a hammer.

There is an untold story here, of how his magical Elven blade was shattered and he replaced it with a trusty Dwarven Warhammer instead.
Moral of the story?
Elf made weapons stink.
At least thats how the Dwarven version of the story goes...

OK, I made that up that last paragraph.
There was little to no fluff in the early Oldhammer era.
Someone needs to ask Rick Priestly about this.
Its probably the most important thing about Warhammer and now I need to know the origin story of Uthmog Elvenblade/Harry The Hammer!

 Closeup of Uthmog's shield

In later editions, he will become known as Harry the Hammer.
But I will always call him Uthmog!
His name is Uthmog Elvenblade...

I understand. In death, a member of Project Mayhem has a name. His name is Robert Paulson... 

 Ulvar Vileblood

 Another view of Ulvar Vileblood

 Skathor Skullcrusher

 Kardos Bloodhelm

This guy is obviously a worshipper of Khorne the Blood God.
Before he became chosen by the Chaos Gods, he was a famous gladiator.

 Belmoth Blacksword

Id say the runework on his shield came out pretty good, if I say so myself.

 Athgul Evilhand

Im guessing this guy is a worshipper of Tzeentch because of his bird helmet, so I gave him the colors of the Lord of Change.

 Another view of Athgul Evilhand

Again, I dont know what came over me as I made up the runework on this shield.

 Drakar Deathbringer

Ha!  I gave the name of Drakkar to the Zombie Dragon in the last post.
And now we have another Drakar.

 Morthog Doomaxe

 Nekris Demonblade

OK, Im missing Ogroth Darksoul, and instead have this fellow. 
He is so oldschool, he doesnt even have a name.

 But he comes from the line known as C01 Chaos Fighter

These guys are somewhere in the Midgewater Marshes north east of Bree.
They are the personal bodyguard of a high official sent by Mordor.
Who is it?
We will find out soon enough...

Cheers,
Mar

Tom Meier's Zombie Dragon & More Pets For The Lichemaster

A Zombie Dragon appears on the blog.

The Lichemaster, Heinrich Kemmler, also makes his debut.
It is by his undead hand that he commands the Zombie Dragon.
As if the Dragon isnt enough to handle, the Lichemaster brings even more pets to maul his foes for the upcoming battles for Bree.

Look upon this 80s box artwork and despair from its pure awesomeness.

This is coded as DG6 Tom Meier's Zombie Dragon.
Go visit the internet archive Stuff of Legends for more info on Citadel dragons and anything else vintage Oldhammer:   http://www.solegends.com/citadel/

A great worm from an ancient time, brought back by fell magicks. 
Whatever his name was of old has been forgotten.

Lichemaster Kemmler has given him a new name... Drakkar Noir. 
Feel the power!
In the far future, those silly humans will bottle the essence from the pools of his homeland and use it as "eau de toilet".
 

Here is Heinrich Kemmler, the Lichemaster himself!
Sure , he's a 90s sculpt, but that dont make you a bad person.
(And yes, there is an 80s version of him that was made for the "module" Terror of the Lichemaster. 
Which I would like to get at some point.  But this one will do for now...
That module also had minis of the skeletal warlords Krell, Ranlac, and...  Mikael Jacsen and his Zombie troup!
Oh, 80's Oldhammer and its wacky humor!)

For those who dont know or recall, Krell is the bound servant of the Lichemaster.
But in recent events here on this alternate Middle Earth, Krell is now serving the Queen of Carn-Dum, I wonder how that reunion with the Lichemaster will turn out?

The Lichemaster is back from the wastelands of Forodwaith.
And now it is clear what he went north to get... a new pet Dragon!
While he was there he found a Frost Beholder playing in the snow drifts and promptly ensorcelled it and sent it south to the war effort in the Shire.
Ahhh, so thats how that well travelled Beholder ended up back in the battle for Sarn Ford.
See this post for that battle:  http://mars-miniatures.blogspot.com/2016/09/tales-from-beer-cart-part-6-sarn-ford.html

This is another of the Lichemaster's pets.
He is a three-headed canine which I am calling Kibbles.
Thats right... the dreaded creature known as Kibbles of Ered Mithrin!
Ered Mithrin is a mountain range far to the north of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain.
And it is home to many strange arctic fantasy creatures, like for example...

...the Frost Hounds of Ered Mithrin.
I somehow got a box of these GW Chaos hounds, which I didnt care for at first.
They have grown on me though.

These Frost Hounds are descended from Blink Dogs who migrated north.

Now the Lichemaster has wrangled them up in a pack, impressed them with this magic tricks (he has liver treats up his sleeve!), and trained them for war.
Thats right... a War for Middle Earth!
Yeah, thats the ticket.

Look out Saruman and Sauron, the Lichemaster will make his mark and stake out his territory... with the power of savage pets!
But first, Bree and its human defenders must die, then be reborn in Undeath... to grow the armies of the Lichemaster!

~~~

So there you have it folks, more devilishly cute pets for the dark powers.


Next up we have some more proper vintage Pre-Slotta Citadel figures.
Stay tuned for some 80s Citadel White Boxes, also known as Speciality Sets!

Cheers,
Mar

The Cavalry Arrives

The clatter of hooves echoes over the wartorn lands of Bree...
Is it the mighty Eoreds of Rohan we hear?
No, it is not.
Rohan has not yet entered the War of the Ring (at least not in our campaign).

It is a mighty host of cavalry from Marienburg!

 Here is the last portion of the Marienburg army.
3 units of finely dressed warriors, come to battle for Bree and the freedom of Middle Earth.

Here are the best cavalry of Marienburg, the Gardes du Corps.

 The commander and standard bearer of the Gardes du Corps.

Musician and trooper.
The Gardes du Corps are also known as the Marienburg Life Guard.

 Here are some Brandenburg cavalry.

The musician and commander.
The commander uses the olde style lobster pot helmet.

Standard bearer and trooper.

 We have some Saarlander cavalry.

Standard bearer and commander.

Saarlander musician and trooper.

The cavalry spot the main body of the Marienburg army ahead.

~~~

This completes the armies of Bree for the campaign.
Next up are a few more forces of Darkness for the invaders.
Which means we are slowly approaching the start of hostilities... battle reports!


I bought a new folding game table that is 6 x 4 foot from Gamemat.eu
Its a 6' x 4' game table made of lightweight aluminum.
I didnt take any pics of the table, but theres plenty of pics on their site.

For the table itself, I would like to give it a 5 axes out of 5 rating.
But I must give the packaging a 3 out of 5, because it was dented in transit.
The area that was damaged is the center of the table where the 2 halves meet.
I have gently worked the dent to a somewhat decent shape.
But there is still a noticeable drop from one half of the table to the other... and its in the center.
I think I can fix it a bit more and get it straighter.
But it could have been avoided if it was packaged with a bit more padding on the edges.

So what forces of Darkness are coming up in the next couple of posts?
We hear there is a talkative ambassador making an appearance, an icon or two of Warhammer fame, plus some non-green villains!


Cheers,
Mar

Oldhammer 2nd Edition Box & Scenario Books

Sometimes eBay amazes me.
Not all the time, but when it does, it makes me cry manly tears of joy.

Here is the 2nd Edition Box set of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
You might remember my White Box 1st edition post here:  http://mars-miniatures.blogspot.com/2015/04/oldhammer-first-edition-box-set-has.html

There is similarity in both of these purchases.
Not only did I get each of these boxes at about $50 a pop, but they both had all the extra material of their edition packed in the box!
In the 1st Edition box, I got the Forces of Fantasy supplements and the Book of Battalions.
Now in this 2nd Edition box, I got all 3 scenario books for 2E with all their miscellany.

How am I so lucky?
Sigmar must be watching over my hobby purchases.
Either him or Sauron, Im not sure which.

Im also a very patient eBayer and I always wait til I can get a good deal, so Im prepared to get a "not so great" copy.
But surprise again, once more!
I got a sharp undented box and crispy clean booklets.
So later, I might have to sacrifice some fatty Hobbits in the name of Sauron (although isnt that what pretty much happened in the Shire campaign of last year?)

Now I have had this edition before, but I never had the scenarios supplements of McDeath or Lichemaster back then.
Hence, my surprise of new nostalgia waiting for me.

Look on, dear reader, and witness the beauty of Oldhammer 2E

Overview shot of everything that came in the box.
Thats right, I got all the scenario books with the rulebooks!
And all the cardboard buildings and miniature standup counters.
Plus some addendum, catalog pages, and various ads.

Look how nice and crisp this box set is!
John Blanche does the box cover art (as if you didnt already know!)

 The first two core rulebooks are Combat and Battle Magic.

This looks freshly printed.
Everything is crisp and clean, even the staples look newly forged!
As condition ratings go, these books are Mint.
All the books were in acid free backing and in comic book bags.
This was definitely from a serious collector who probably bought two copies of everything, one for use and one for storage.
This was the storage copy, as it looks and feels unread.

Oldhammer artwork

The rules are pretty much the same as 1st Edition with Forces of Fantasy mixed in.
Some of the art is recycled, but the new pieces are great.

This drawing looks to be a Wraith or Wight coming out of some pottery like a Djinni from a lamp.

Dammit, who knocked over the Urn?
(everyone points at the sinewy barbarian) 
Conan!  You're too big to be a thief!

The third core rulebook is the "Monster Manual".

And the 1st scenario book is Bloodbath at Orc's Drift, which is written and illustrated by...
Gary Chalk, Ian Page, and Joe Dever!
For those who dont know them, they are all of Lone Wolf gamebook fame.

Joe Dever, was not only the writer of Lone Wolf books, but also the video game Killzone.
Which is why Helghast is in both works.

Gary Chalk did the artwork for Lone Wolf, various Oldhammer and also the board games Talisman and Cry Havoc!

Both of those board games I spent much of my formative years playing.


Ian Page was an unfamiliar name, so I googled him to find out: not only did he help write some Lone Wolf books, but he was also the lead singer of the Mod Revival band "Secret Affair".
An obscure band, but since I do have a fascination with the "mod/power pop/punk" bands of the 70s, this was quite a surprise for me.
Listen to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XonDLg3e5wU

Ooooo...
A mean looking Wraith taking on a Beastman.
My money is on the Wraith, looks like he has a beastman trophy collection already below him.
A couple of those heads look like Orcs.  And a Dwarf too.

Hey they even provide a nice map of the area
I swear this looks like it belongs somewhere in Sommerlund!
Now I will have to figure out where in Middle Earth this is for my own campaign.
Oh, spoilers!
Yup, Orcs Drift might certainly happen on this blog.
If I had to guess, I would say this map is a small area in Dimrill Dale!

A couple of army sheets for the scenario

Two more beautiful scenario books!

The Tragedy of McDeath is written by one of the creators of Warhammer itself - Richard Halliwell.
And is illustrated by the wonderous John Blanche.
Mr Halliwell was a big part of the design of the first 3 editions of Warhammer as well as one of the greatest board games ever made... Space Hulk!

Terror of the Lichemaster is written by Rick Priestly and illustrated again by Gary Chalk.
Im sure we all know Mr Priestley's contributions to the gaming world.
For the padawan learners, Mr. P has designed and or contributed to Warhammer Fantasy, 40k, Necromunda, Warmaster, and Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle!
Nowadays, of course, he is with Warlord Games and has done Bolt Action, Hail Caesar, Gates of Antares, etc.

Oh look its the Loch Ness... err I mean Loch Larm Monster.
Nessie it turns out, is just a Dragon Turtle!
Oh, and I do have a Dragon Turtle just waiting to get a nice paint job.

Ha!  Look at these guys!
They look like Hogwarts drop outs.

I could be wrong but besides John Blanche, I dont think any of these blokes are with GW today.

Lovely simple art and stats.  And a map to help you lay out your game table.

Lastly, I got a ton of these cardboard sheets for buildings and counters.

~~~

So there you have it, minty fresh 80s nostalgia!

Im sure that some of it will be quite useful here on my Middle Earth mashup.

I dont think I will switch back to 2E rulewise though, I will be sticking with 6/7E for quite awhile yet.
Still, it is a treasure to me.
I will be pouring over every little scrap of art and info contained herein for many a sleepless night.

So thats 1st and 2nd edition collected (I have also completed 6th and 7th, & closing in on all the Warhammer Ancient Battles books too)

Now, if only I can get 3rd edition books for a good price and in mint condition...
I dont know if my luck will hold out.
Especially with the creaky old binding of 3rd edition hardcovers.
And this time, I swear to all the old gods and the new... I will never sell or give away my wargame books and miniatures collection again.
So say we all...


Cheers,
Mar


Next post: The Horsemen Cometh!